Feed-gage for printing-presses.



N0. 680,966. Patented Aug. 20, ISM.

' T. C. DEXTER.

FEE-D GAGE FDR PRINTING PRESSES.

(Application filed May 7, 1900.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sh eet l WITN SSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEY No. 680,966. Patented Aug. 20, 190i.

T. C. DEXTER. FEED GAGE FURPRINTING PRESSES.

(Application filed May 7, 1900.]

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4 Sheets-Sheet 2,

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SwW M- ATTORNEY No. 680,966. Patented Aug. 20, I90l.

T. C. DEXTER. FEED GAGE FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

(Application filed May 7, 1900.}

(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 4.

WITN SSES: INVENTQR 1' '3 W 5;

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TALBOT O. DEXTER, OF PEARL RIVER, NEIV YORK.

FEED-GAGE FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,966, dated August 20, 1901.

' Application filed May 7, 1900. $erial No. 15,729. (No model.)

To all 1072 0111, it may concern:

Be it known that I, TALBOT O. DEXTER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pearl River, in the county of Rocklaud, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Feed-Gages for Printing-Presses, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the feed-gages employed on printing-presses for the purpose of registering or alining the front edge of the paper preparatory to its being drawn onto the impression-cylinder by the usual grippers connected to said cylinder.

In practice ithas been found that in the op eration of feeding the paper to the press, especially when the paper is delivered by a feeding-machine, the front edge of the delivered paper is sometimes brought with sufficient force in contact with the feed-gages to crowd the sheet, so as to produce a wave in its plane, and when subsequently released from the gages the front portion of the sheet springs forward before the grippers of the impression-cylinder can seize the sheet.

The object of this invention is to obviate the aforesaid defect; and to that end the invention consists in the combination, with a printing-press and mechanisms automatically supplying the paper to said press, of feed-gages supported movably back and forth between the gripping-line of the press and registering-line on the delivery of the paper and vertically at the ends of its travel, mechanism actuating said feed-gages and timed to arrest the paper in transit at the registeringline and subsequently release the paper, and mechanism moving the released paper to the grippingline of the press, as hereinafter more fully described; and the invention also consists in novel features of the construction and combination of the component parts of the invention, as hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a printing-press in connection with a paper-feeding machine and equipped with my improved feed-gages. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation showing'more clearly the invention and means for transmitting motion thereto. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 4. is a face view of one of the feed-gages. Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are detail side views of my improved feed-gage in different operative positions, and Fig. 9 is a transverse section on line X X in Fig. 4.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In said drawings, A represents the impression-cylinder of a printing-press, which may be of any well known form and construction.

B represents the feed-board, upon which the paper is passed to the printing-press. The paper may be fed either by the hands of the attendant of the press or by means of a feeding-machine, as represented at C in Fig. 1 of the drawings. In either case the paper to be passed to the printing-press is placed with its front edge against the usual feedgages, which rise and fall at properly-timed intervals and drop onto the usual paperguiding fingers a on the delivery end of the feed-board in time to receive the impact of the front edge of the delivered sheet, and thereby aline or register said edge at the gripping-line of the press preparatory to the seizure of the paper by the usual grippers, which draw the paper onto the impressioncylinder.

In delivering the paper to the aforesaid feed-gages, especially when delivered. from a feeding-machine, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the front edge of the delivered paper is liable to be brought with sufficient force into contact with the usual feed-gages to cause the paper to be slightly buckled or waved, and when subsequently released from contact with the feed-gages the front portion of said paper springs forward with undue rapidity for the grippers of the impressioncylinder to obtain the requisite hold thereon, as hereinbefore stated. To obviate this defect, I employ the feed-gages Z), which are carried back and forth between the grippingline 0 of the press and a gagingdine c, in the path of the paper to said gripping-line, as indioated in Figs. 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the drawings. To obtain said movement of the feedgages, I mount transversely on the usual rockshaft 01 sleeves e and mount in said sleeves longitudinally-movable stems f, to the free ends of which are attached the feed-gages Z).

Transversely over the gage-stems f is a rock shaft g, to which are fastened depending arms h, which operate with their free ends between suitable tappets t' 2', connected to the said gage-stems. Said tappets are adjustable lengthwise of the gage-stems to permitthe thrusts of the said stems to be regulated as may be required to carry the gages into positions for producing different-sized margins on the printed sheets. The aforesaid tappets 'ii are preferably formed of set-screws, adjust- :ibly connected to lugs t" i, projecting from the sides of the gage-stems, as shown. The contact of the oscillating arms h with the tappets or set-screws i i imparts intermittent reciprocating motion to the stems f, which are thereby caused to carry the gages I) back and forth between the gaging-line c and gripping-line c, hereinbefore described.

The rock-shaft g is actuated by a lever j, attached to the end of said shaft and receiving intermittent oscillatory motion from a cam D, mounted on the hub of a gear D, which is journaled on a stud 7c, fastened to the press-frame.

The usual vertical movement of the feedgages is obtained from an arm Z, fastened to the end of the rock-shaft d and riding with its free end on a cam D mounted on the hub of the gear-wheel D, which meshes with a gear-wheel F, fastened to the shaft of the impression-cylinder, as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

Other means may be employed for transmitting the rocking motion to the shaft of as may be found most convenient for different constructions of the driving mechanisms of printing-presses.

The movement of the feed-gages b b from the gaging-line c to the gripping-line 0' releases the front edge of the gaged sheet, and in case said sheet has become buckled or waved by its impact on the feed-gages the front portion of the sheet is allowed to slip toward the gripping-line c, and thus become relieved of its buckling or waving. In order to render this movement of the sheet positive and at the same time maintain the front edge of the sheet in its gaged and registered condition, I connect to each of the feed-gages b a vertically-movable paper-depressor, preferably of the form of a plate m, sliding in vertical guides n n on the face of the gage and forced downward by a spiral spring 0, surrounding a vertical rod 0, which is connected it its upper end to the upper guide it and passes with its lower end through an eye in a lug 0 projecting from the plate m. The spring 0 bears with one of its ends on the lug 0 and with its opposite end on a collar 0 adjustably attached to the upper end of the rod 0. The lug 0 coming in contact with the top of the lower guide it causes the plate m to be lifted simultaneously with the rising of the feed-gage b. To allow the plate 'm to obtain a more secure hold on the underlying portion of the paper, I attach to the base of said plate a strip of rubber or othersuitable friction-pad p, and in order to insure a positive bearing of said plate upon the extreme front edge of the paper I provide the face of the feed-gage b with a recess b, in which the platem is seated, as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings. Said plate is thus carried in a position which causes a portion of the paperdepressing foot of the plate to extend beyond the paper-engaging face of the gage.

In order to lift the plate m while the feedgage bis in gaging position, said plate has extending from it a heel 1', which is disposed directly over a finger s, fastened to the rockshaft 9 and preferably formed integral with the arm h, hereinbefore described.

The operation of my herein-described invention is as follows: The feed-gages b b are in their normal position in time to receive the impact of the front edge of the paper delivered upon the feed-board. The gages are carried to said position by the rock-arms 71 hearing on the tappets iadjacent to the gages b,and thereby pushing the gages to the gagingline 0, while the rock-shaft d lowers the gages onto the paper-guiding fingers a. In pushing the gages to said line the plate on on each of said gages is lifted by the finger .9 bearing on the under side of the heel r, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The said lifting of the plate at allows the front edge of the paper to pass under said plate and to the gage, by which it is alincd or registered. In coming in contact with the said gage the paper is liable to be thrown into a slight wave, as indicated by dotted line 25. The movements of the two rock-shafts g and d are so timed that by the time the paper has been delivered to the feed-gages b the fingers 8 release the heels 1", and thereby allow the plates m to be forced down onto the front margin of the paper by means of the springs 0, as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. A further movement of the rock-shaft g in the same directions causes the arms h to push the stems forward, and thereby move the feed-gages to the gripping-line c of the press, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. In this latter movement the engagement of the plates on with the paper draws the front portion of the paper along to the gripping-line c, and in said movement it draws the waveout of the paper and delivers the front edge thereof in proper position for the grippers u of the press to seize the paper. The rock-shaft d then immediately lifts the feed-gages b I), together with the paper-depressors m, to allow the grippers u of the press to draw the paper from the feed-board onto the impression cylinder A, as indicated in Fig. 8 of the drawings. As soon as the paper has been thus delivered to the press the rock-shafts d and g restore the feed-gages b and paper-depressors cm to the position shown in Fig. 5 of the draw- 1ngs.

Although I have shown in the annexed drawings my preferred construction and com eso,ecc

bination of the component parts of my invention, yet I wish it to be understood that my invention in that respect is susceptible of modifications, and I therefore do not limit myself specifically to such details.

"What I claim as my invention is 1. The combination with a printing-press and mechanisms automatically supplying the paper to said press, of' feed-gages supported movably back and forth between the gripping-line of the press an d registering-line on the delivery of the paper and vertically at the ends of its travel, mechanism actuating said feed-gages and timed to arrest the paper in transit at the registering-line, and subsequently release the paper, and mechanism moving the released paper to the gripping line of the press as set forth.

2. The combination with a printing-press and feed-fingers, of longitudinally-niovable feed-gages over said fingers, vertical guides on said gages, paper-depressing plates sliding in said guides and having their paper-engaging portions extending beyond the faces of the gages, and mechanism actuating said gages and plates.

3. The combination, with a printing-press and feed-fingers, of longitudinally-movable feed-gages over said fingers, vertical guides on said gages, paper-depressing plates sliding in said guides and having their paper-engaging portions extending beyond the faces of the gages, friction-pads attached to the lower ends of said plates, and mechanism actuating said gages and plates as set forth.

4. The combination with a printing-press, a rock-shaft parallel with the axis of the impression-cylinder and sleeves fastened transversely to said shaft, of stems mounted longitudinally movable in said sleeves, feedgages attached to said stems, tappets secured to the stems adjustably lengthwise thereof, vertically-movable paper-depressors carried on the gages, a rock-shaft disposed at right angles to the gage-stems, arms fastened to said rock-shaft and operating with their free ends between the aforesaid tappets, and fingers extending from said arms and imparting vertical movement to the paper-depressors as set forth.

5. The combination with a printing-press, a rock-shaft parallel with the axis of the impression-cylinder and sleeves fastened transversely to said rock-shaft, of stems mounted longitudinally movable in said sleeves, feedgages attached to said stems, vertically-movable sheet-depressors connected to said gages, springs forcing the sheet-depressors downward, heels projecting from said depressors, a rock-shaft disposed at right angles to the aforesaid gage-stems, arms fastened to said rock-shaft and transmitting longitudinal motion to the gage-stems, and fingers extending from said arms and lifting the sheet-depressors by engagement with the heels thereof as set forth and shown.

TALBOT O. DEXTER. Witnesses:

G. V. B. Lnrrcn, M. E. MoRRIsoN. 

